Christmas Bird Count set for Friday, Dec. 29

On Friday, Dec. 29, if you notice strangers walking around in your community toting binoculars, studying books and seeming to gaze at birds flying past, don’t be alarmed. This just means Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count is underway.

The Christmas Bird Count, the nation’s longest-running community science bird project, has been going on locally since around 1998 or 1999, said Donna Owen, who has helped count birds since 2006.

But nationwide, the bird count is celebrating its 124th year. It was started by Frank Chapman and 26 other conservationists on Christmas Day 1900 as a way of promoting conservation by counting, rather than hunting, birds.

Each year, the Christmas Bird Count occurs on a day falling between Dec. 14 and Jan. 5. The local sponsoring organization, the Okatibbee Creek Audubon Society, has decided this year’s count for Lauderdale County will be held on Friday, Dec. 29. If a make-up date is needed, although the count is usually held regardless of the weather, it will be Friday, Jan. 5, Owen said.

The Christmas Bird Count is much like a census of birds. On that one calendar day, people participating in the effort will count every bird of all species encountered that day. The Lauderdale County count area is a 15-mile circle with Bailey serving as the center point. The 15-mile circle is divided into nine sections, and counters must remain in their section to minimize the possibility of double counting.

In 2022, 13 participants worked more than 44 hours in counting birds in the Lauderdale County circle area with 77 species of birds recorded, including Canada geese, wood ducks, great blue herons, black vultures, American white pelicans, bald eagles, killdeer, red-headed woodpeckers, blue jays and bluebirds, Carolina chickadees, northern mockingbirds and yellow-rumped warblers, among other species common to the area.

Participants will both drive and walk in their section areas, spying and recording as many birds as they can find. Owen said they should be able to identify themselves if any property owner has questions.

The Christmas Bird Count is important in getting an accurate count of the bird population and in noticing any trends in a decline of a species, said Owen, who often walks through fields and wetlands trying to get an accurate count.

She said the Audubon group is always looking for anyone interested in participating in the count, but those signing up to count birds must be very knowledgeable about the different species because they will need to make an accurate identification.

According to the Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count webpage on Wednesday, 47 bird counts have already taken place nationwide this year with 1,996,277 birds counted.